Early Years and Childcare Update - 06 March 2025

Dear Providers,

Welcome to the first edition of the Early Years and Childcare Weekly Update! This update will contain important high-level communication for early years and childcare providers. Providers will receive a weekly email notification to let you know that the noticeboard is ready for viewing. 

This week's update includes information on:

  • Provider Portal Sign Up Reminder and Go-Live Date Change
  • Early Education Entitlements
    • Funding Rates
    • Summer Estimates Submission
    • Portal User and Eligibility Sessions
  • Free Workshops Schedule 

Please feel free to share this update with anyone you think would benefit from accessing this content. We hope that this update will be beneficial to all.

If you have any questions or feedback, please contact familyinformation@birmingham.gov.uk

Provider Portal Sign Up Reminder and Go-Live Date Change

As you should hopefully be aware the Early Years and Childcare Team are launching a new Information Portal for providers called the Nexus Provider Portal. We would like to inform you that the launch date has moved to Thursday 20 March 2025. 

Many providers have already nominated a Nexus Provider Portal user. If you haven’t already done so, then please do this today using our online form. You can have accounts for up to 4 people within your organisation. 

The introduction of this portal will enable us to:

  • strengthen the information that we collect from you to support our sufficiency data
  • improve the information that we can provide to parents and third parties when they are looking for childcare options
  • contact you more efficiently.  

For detailed information and benefits related to this change for your provider type, please monitor our emails.

If you have any queries about the Nexus Provider Portal, then please contact FamilyInformation@birmingham.gov.uk

Early Education Entitlements

Funding Rates 2025-2026

Following receipt of the local authority’s funding allocation from DfE and the successful Early Education Entitlements (EEE) rates review meetings, the following early education entitlements rates for 2025 / 2026 were shared with all EEE providers by email in January 2025. The rate increases will take effect from Summer term 2025 and will automatically be applied to your claims:

Hourly Rates:

  • 9-23 months - £11.92
  • 2 Year Olds - £8.51
  • 3 & 4 Year olds - £5.66

Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) (capped at 15 hours)

  • 9months – 4 years £1.00

Disability Access Fund (DAF) (one payment per financial year)

  • 9months – 4 years £938

Free School Meals (FSM)

To claim a FSM for eligible children, they must be accessing their funded place for a minimum of 5 hours between 9am and 3pm.

  • 2 year olds – 15 hours £218 p/a capped at 15 hours - we pay 2/5 of a 5 day week
  • 2 year olds – 30 hours (from September 25) £545 p/a.  For eligible children accessing 30 hours we will pay 5/5 of a 5 day week from Sept 25
  • 3 & 4 year olds – 15 universal hours £218 p/a – capped at 15 hours - we pay 2/5 of a 5 day week
  • 3 & 4 year olds – 30 hours £545 p/a. For eligible children accessing 30 hours we will pay 5/5 of a 5 day week

Deprivation rates (capped at 15 hours automatically applied to the relevant postcodes identified by the IDACI)

  • 0-5% £0.61
  • 5-10% £0.29
  • 15-20% £0.08

Maintained Nursery Schools Supplementary Funding

  • Maintained Nursery Schools £5.27

For enquiries please contact: earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk

Summer Estimates Submission 

The EEE Portal is now open for you to submit your estimates for the Summer term. The portal will be continuously open until midnight Sunday 9th March, however technical support will only be available during normal office hours Monday – Friday. For advice and support please email earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk stating your setting name and ID.

The estimate claim is so that you can tell us how many children you think you will have for Summer Term (April – August) so that your 80% interim payment can be calculated for group care or your monthly payments for Childminders. Please only count confirmed children otherwise you may be over paid and would need to repay us the money. Remember to include existing children that are staying with you for Summer Term as well as new children in your estimate claim.

Please remember – if parents are eligible for both the disadvantaged offer and the working entitlement, they can only claim one entitlement – disadvantaged or working – not both, but you must submit your claim on the system under the disadvantaged offer.

Your named EEE contact will have been sent an email with all the details on and a step-by-step guide.

Please note - if you do not submit an estimate claim now and children start with you in April, we will pay you 100% of the money in July after you have submitted a headcount claim on the EEE portal at headcount date in May.  This excludes childminders, who would start to receive monthly payments after headcount.

Portal User and Eligibility Sessions 

Do you have someone new that will be responsible for submitting your funding claims on the EEE Portal?

Do you want to understand how to check children’s eligibility for the Early Education Entitlements (EEE)?

Every term we deliver online sessions that show you how to use the EEE Sentinel portal and how to check whether children are eligible to access a funded place.

Send your details to earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk and we will let you know when the next sessions are.

Free Workshops Schedule

All Early Years providers, EEE providers, Childminders, Out of School Clubs, and Maintained Nursery Schools are invited to attend one of the Early Years and Childcare Services workshops.

There is a choice of 11 workshops available to book, all for free! This year we are introducing two new workshops:

  • Equity, Diversity & Inclusion - this workshop raises awareness about equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) and is suitable for all providers (practitioners, managers & directors). 
  • Workforce Development- this workshop discusses themes around ‘Training & Professional Development’, ‘Recruitment & Retention’ and ‘Supervision & Support’ and is suitable for Early Years and Childcare leaders, managers & directors.

Choose the workshop you are interested in attending and sign up via the workshop registration page.

Please note: spaces are limited and are allocated on a first come first served basis.

What if I can’t find a date that suits me?

All listed workshops, except for the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Briefing, have additional dates beyond May 2025.  You can find and sign up for our post May workshops on the Birmingham Early Years Network 'Upcoming Events' webpage.

Who can I contact for additional advice?

We run a weekday duty service where you can access support, advice and guidance from one of our Early Years Consultants:

Contact us - eyduty@birmingham.gov.uk

0121 675 4996

We’re available Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm (except bank holidays)

This entry was posted by Jessica Wykes on 04/03/2025.

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